A/N: And here we are, the final chapter. This has been a crazy month for the fandom, which means it was a crazy month for me. Since this is the end, I have to confess something. This was based on real life, some parts real, some parts not, but that was the main reason I was able to write fairly quickly, since I knew what happened and only sometimes deviated. I must say it turned out pretty good, I think. Anyway, if I haven't said it enough already, I'm just glad for all the support and I do hope you'll support my upcoming story Miser with our very own Seulrene once again. It's been a pleasure writing for all of you. 

In a world full of grey, there was a girl dressed in red. Joohyun always wore a sweater under all her expensive coats and jackets. Christmas red with an embroidered rabbit in the center. Seulgi could spot her through the crowd like she was some sort of beacon of light, and in a way she was. 

Seulgi stopped in her tracks when she saw Joohyun near the school gates, hands fiddling with each other, nervous and antsy, that familiar red sweater prominent beneath her jacket. She took her time watching her, and it reminded her of the time before, when she was satisfied merely by snaring a glance at the girl. But that time was over, and a mere glance was not going to quell the beating in her chest. 

It raged on and on. Seulgi put a hand to her bosom, feeling out the increasing heartbeat. Way down inside, Seulgi knew Joohyun was already hers. She could just feel it.

Seulgi took a tentative step forward, testing out the waters, and then she took another, and it became easier from then on. To walk towards Joohyun was quite a feat and she would do more if given the chance.

Tapping Joohyun’s shoulder, she gave a smile full of mirth when Joohyun jumped up just a little, surprised by the intruder, but that surprise soon turned into meekness and Joohyun looked down at her feet like a child that had done wrong. 

Cute.

“There’s this place I've been wanting to go,” Seulgi said. She gestured with her head to the road. “Let’s take a walk.”

As Seulgi went on ahead, Joohyun took hold of her sleeve, stopping her in her tracks. With a small voice, she said, “Seulgi, that speech—”

Seulgi relaxed and leaned into Joohyun’s touch. She looked fondly towards Joohyun, but Joohyun had her eyes on the ground.

“It was my true feelings. It felt...right to say. Does it make you uncomfortable?” Seulgi asked with a worried look.

Joohyun shook her head instantly and raised her hands up in denial. “No! It’s just...it was sweet.”

“I’m not usually the type of girl that does things like that. In fact, I’m not the type of girl that does things.”

Joohyun continued staring at her feet, but Seulgi could see a tiny smile dance on Joohyun’s lips. Joohyun was being very coy right now and it made Seulgi want to squeal from how cute it was. 

Seulgi took Joohyun’s wrist and tugged her along. 

“Come on. I want to be there before sundown.”

//

If you looked from the sky, Trinity Park was in the very heart of the town, smack dab in the middle. One could say all roads lead to Trinity Park and thus it was a hotspot for all sorts of gatherings: weddings, sports games, a date with Bae Joohyun. You know, the real important things. 

In the middle of the park, there was this enormous cherry blossom, as if it took steroids and bulked up like a bodybuilder. This was where Seulgi first saw Joohyun, and the first time she ever fell in love. 

“I’ve always wanted to come here with you,” Seulgi said, her hand still wrapped around Joohyun’s tiny wrist. “It’s a good place to find a spot and read, isn’t it?”

Joohyun nodded. “I come here every weekend.”

“To be honest with you, your orchard seems to be a far better place for reading.” Seulgi pointed to track-and-field runners passing by and the rowdy kids playing around in the grass. “Less distractions,” she continued.

“The orchard is quiet, yes, but this place has character. The children are cute, the elderly are quite lovely, and the trees are cozy. It feels like I’m living in another world.”

Seulgi watched Joohyun silently once again with a fond smile. It was rare for Joohyun to talk so flowery.

“You’re unreal, Bae Joohyun,” Seulgi spoke with an airy voice, as if just staring at Joohyun made her breathless. 

“What?”

“What do you like about me?” Seulgi asked instead. They walked along the gravel path, their destination the cherry blossom in the center of the park.

Joohyun’s face flashed with surprise, but she collected herself and said, “Brave.”

“You mean very stupid,” Seulgi tried being humble. 

“Stupid maybe, but definitely brave. Everyone’s talking about your speech.”

“Ah, the speech. It was Sooyoung’s idea.”

“Sooyoung...she...she knows about us?”

Seulgi couldn’t help but smile sheepishly. “From the very start.”

“WHAT?” Joohyun was offended. She muttered, “And I tell that girl everything…” which Seulgi didn’t catch.

“Is there something wrong?”

Joohyun waved her hands in denial. “It’s nothing. Just surprised is all.”

“I want to get to know you Joohyun,” Seulgi professed. She took Joohyun’s hand in hers, which was clammy but that made it all the better. She made Joohyun nervous. 

“I-I…” Joohyun hesitated and Seulgi leaned in closer in anticipation. Her shoulders relaxed as she smiled when she said, “I want to get to know you too.”

The cherry blossom was quite dead this time of year, but the vastness and its beauty still remained intact. Come spring, it will bloom and the grey world with its girl wearing red would now have pink painting the canvas. 

They situated themselves at the foot of the tree, where Seulgi had seen Joohyun lounge around so many times before. Across from them was the bench that Seulgi would normally perch at, but the time for merely watching from afar was over, and it was just her and Joohyun together. 

Seulgi watched Joohyun closely, saw how her eyes twinkled, how they creased and wrinkled. At that moment, there was nothing quite like it. This feeling inside her welled up and filled her to the brim with it. Happy. Seulgi felt happy.

“I don’t want to be a rebound, Joohyun.”

“You’re not!” Joohyun instantly blurted. “I-It may seem that way, but trust me, you’re definitely not.”

Joohyun fiddled with the hem of her red sweater, her feet antsy and her eyes turned downwards in pure shyness. 

“To be honest with you Seulgi, I…I settled for Seungwan. I thought...I thought if I was with her…I thought...I thought I could be with you. When she asked me out, I said to myself, ‘This is my chance!’ And I took that chance. Lovers or not, I wanted to be close to you.”

“What stopped you?”

“Myself,” Joohyun confessed. She looked straight at Seulgi. “I’m a hypocrite, I know, but I was afraid. I doubted everything. I felt that even if I opened up, laid myself bare to you, I thought that you wouldn’t like what you saw.”

Joohyun echoed what Seulgi felt. All those years of pining, the lonely stares from afar, of convincing herself that she wasn’t good enough, they both experienced the same feelings. 

“Joohyun,” Seulgi said firmly. She reached down and held Joohyun’s hands in hers. “There are many sides of you, some of which I like more than others, but those sides are all you and I’ll love them all the same.”

Seulgi leaned forward and kissed the crown of Joohyun’s head.

“And I may not be perfect or the best I can be at all times, but I’m closing my eyes and taking a leap of faith that you will too. From the wise words of a friend…” —Seulgi rested her head with Joohyun’s, staring right into her eyes— “...don’t doubt. Don’t think. Just do.” 

In a split second, everything Seulgi had worked for was rewarded. In a split second, the stars aligned and the heavens opened. In a split second, Joohyun leaned forward and gave her a kiss. It wasn’t sloppy or rough. It was tender. It was sweet. It lasted for not even five seconds, but it felt like forever. It was a kiss that said yes. A kiss that signalled to Seulgi that her feelings were heard, that they were acted upon. It wasn’t filled with lust, but of love. 

It may not be as fiery as their first, but it was her favorite.

When Joohyun pulled away, Seulgi said in a breathless whisper, “Wow…” 

Joohyun giggled. “Is that how you do it? To just do?”

“I won’t mind if you did that a hundred times more just to be sure. You know, to see if that’s how you really do it.”

Joohyun laughed this time and playfully hit Seulgi on the shoulder. “Take what you can get, you sweet-talker.”

“So no more kisses?” Seulgi pouted, where her eyes looked like a sad puppy.

Joohyun’s face scrunched in annoyances “Ahh don’t do that! It’s not fair!”

But Seulgi kept on pouting, and Joohyun finally relented and gave her a quick peck on the lips. Seulgi beamed wide and said, “Yes!”

Joohyun shook her head as she smiled. “You big dork.”

“Is that bad?”

“No.” Joohyun leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Seulgi’s waist and tucked herself inside the crook of Seulgi’s neck. “You’re my big dork.”

Seulgi reciprocated and wrapped her arms around Joohyun also and rested her head on top of Joohyun’s.

This was it. 

Everything felt right.

“I’m yours.”

//

“Judging by that stupid smile of yours, I suppose your date went well?” Sooyoung asked as she leaned against one of the desks.

They were on the first floor of the school, in a classroom near the principal’s office. For their stunt yesterday, they were given detention. Saturday detention, that was. Hyoyeon didn’t want to give them one, but the principal was livid and her hand was forced. 

Judging by what happened with Joohyun and her newfound popularity with the student body, Seulgi was quite satisfied with only a detention in return. 

“It went perfectly,” Seulgi replied as she was lying down on the chairs, looking up at the ceiling. It seemed as though she was still quite affected by yesterday, now dubbed “The Best Day of her Life”. 

“You’re thinking of her right now, aren’t you?”

“Yep,” Seulgi only said.

Sooyoung shook her head in amusement. “You’re hopelessly whipped.”

“If Joohyun is into , then I’d be glad to be whipped.”

“You’re…” Sooyoung scoffed. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “...I don’t even know what to say to that. That’s my sister you’re talking about.”

“I’d say a lot more if I need to, but I think you already get it.”

“That you’re basically a slave?” Sooyoung immediately realized and regretted what she said, “DON’T—”

“I’d gladly be Joohyun’s slave.”

“Jesus Christ, you’re hopeless,” Sooyoung groaned. “Is this what I have to deal with in the coming weeks?”

“You mean the coming years?”

“No, weeks. Honeymoon period, haven’t you heard of it?”

“What’s that?”

“Well when you’re with someone long enough, when you really get to know them, you get tired of them in some cases. The little things start to annoy you, the way she speaks, the way she folds her clothes at home, or the way she chews loudly. You know, things like that.”

Seulgi hummed in acknowledgement, seemingly not hearing what Sooyoung said, and Sooyoung was about to knock some sense of her, but Seulgi said, “I’ll love every side of her. If I don’t, I learn to. Her imperfections make her perfect.”

Sooyoung scoffed. 

“Yeah you’re absolutely whipped.”

“Whip me baby—”

“SHUT UP!”

//

Monday came around. In a matter of weeks, the thoughts that buried itself in her mind, the ones of self-pity, of terrible doubt, of hate and pain—they were all gone. It was all thanks to a newfound friend, one that made mistakes and warned her not to make the same. 

“Hey, Kang Seulgi.”

All eyes were on her as she walked the hallway to class. Greetings and small words of encouragement were thrown her way. Some of them took her aside and told her how her speech affected them, how they too felt useless and alone. Seulgi merely echoed what Sooyoung told her many times before.

“Don’t doubt. Don’t think. Just do.”

The biggest enemy was yourself.

When homeroom came, it felt like a different world. When before there was not a single glance thrown her way, now it was an endless stream of them, as if she was the hot new commodity and everyone was trying to get in line.

Mr. Kim stood in the forefront, hands on the podium in the middle of the front. He said with a booming voice, “Countless students came to the counselor’s office after the assembly on Friday. Ms. Manoban was overwhelmed and stayed for a few hours talking to and hearing the worries of all the students that came. Afterwards, she came to the principal and they agreed to set up a new organization. A mental health organization, and they’re asking for officers from each class to head the system. Any volunteers?”

There was a silence that followed and everyone held their breath.

Suddenly one kid said, “I nominate Kang Seulgi.”

Damn you, Jackson.

Mr. Kim looked at her. “Oh, Seulgi. The star of the show. You caused quite a stir on Friday. So what will it be? Are you taking it or not?”

Seulgi gaped and looked around the room, seeing the faces of her fellow students stare at her. They were filled with hope, as if they counted on her, relied on her, as if she gave them hope.

So Seulgi nodded and said, “I’ll be an officer.”

Mr. Kim nodded once and said, “Well I guess that settles the matter.”

Seulgi looked down at her desk, thinking about how everything was changing.

//

The organization was quite something to behold. They settled in one of the teacher conference rooms, the teachers surrounding them as they sat beside each other on the large oval table.

The principal was at the forefront, her hands folded, as she looked around surreptitiously, but Seulgi noticed. Seulgi always noticed the little things. 

Finally, the principal said, “Okay, now that we’re all here. I’d like to introduce this new organization that I’ve created here with Ms. Manoban.” She gestured to Ms. Manoban in the far corner, who sheepishly waved a greeting as all eyes went to her.

“Because of…” The principal caught Seulgi’s eye, “...a certain student’s speech, our student’s issues have been given some light. Things such as drugs, self-worth, alcohol, etc. Our student’s mental health,” she finished, the whole time her eyes on Seulgi’s.

The principal gauged the room, finding that she still had everyone’s apt attention. “And the students here with us have been given the vote of confidence among their peers. So along with Ms. Manoban, you will act as counselors. Let me be clear, you are in no way obligated to listen to every drop of information that spills from the other student’s mouths, but any help you can give to Ms. Manoban will be gladly appreciated. In turn, this will count towards your college application greatly.”

Small murmurs started between the teachers and students, but the principal brought it back not a second after. 

“This group will be working closely with every student, even among yourselves. So we need structure in this organization and that means we need a president, someone who the most trusted students in the school trust.”

Again, the principal’s eyes turned to Seulgi.

“And to speed up the process, just raise your hands when I call out a student’s name. Each hand raised is a vote. This vote is only for students so teachers please keep your hands down.”

“First off, Kang Seulgi.”

And all hands were raised.

//

“Why hello Mrs. President!” Joohyun teased as she met Seulgi by the cherry blossom at Trinity Park.

“Har har, you don’t have to rub it in.”

“I’m not rubbing it in. It’s cool. Imagine the gossip, I’m dating the President.”

“You’re not into gossip.”

“That doesn’t stop me from hearing about it in school,” Joohyun retorted. “Besides, what you’re doing is good! You’re helping other people.”

Seulgi thought of Sooyoung at that moment and all she had done for her. Sooyoung saved her from certain despair.

But who would save Sooyoung?

“I’ll try to help as many as I can,” Seulgi professed as she leaned against the cold bark of the tree. She looked lovingly at Joohyun. “I’ll help you even.”

“Me? With what?”

“Anything! Your troubles and your worries. Maybe a broken sink or maybe you need a ride to school. Okay, that last one isn’t happening. I don’t have a license, but anything else I can do!”

Joohyun laughed but she pointed at her lips. 

“Help me with this first and we’ll think about the others.”

Seulgi smiled as she leaned forward and kissed Joohyun on the lips once more. As it started getting rougher, Seulgi used the little trick she learned from Seungwan and rubbed the back of Joohyun’s ear. Lo and behold, it worked. When they pulled away, Joohyun hit her playfully on the arm.

“You learned that from Seungwan, didn’t you?”

“What? No! I’m just—”

“Save it hot shot. I better not be hearing about you asking for tips. You ask me directly next time, alright?”

“I didn’t ask for tips,” Seulgi tried to make an excuse, but Joohyun shot her a pointed look and she withered away. “Alright, I won’t.”

“Good.”

As they leaned against the tree and looked out at the passersby, Seulgi held Joohyun’s hand in hers, giving each other an anchor, a beacon of strength. Living in the moment, Seulgi unexpectedly uttered, “I wrote the letters.”

Joohyun’s brows furrowed. “You already told me that.”

“No, it’s…I didn’t write them for Seungwan. I wrote them directly to you. Those were my words, those were my observations, my thoughts. Those books were my books, the little notes under the covers all mine.”

At the confession, Joohyun gaped, but her lips turned into flat and soon enough, she grinned. 

“Dear Kang Seulgi,” Joohyun started as she gave a peck on Seulgi’s cheek. With another peck on the other cheek, she said, “you are the sweetest human being ever.”

Joohyun gave her a peck on a different part of her face  every time she spoke. 

“You are selfless.”

“You are brave.”

“The way you smile is heavenly. I like the way your eyes turn into crescents and they smile along with you.”

“You are kind.”

“You are cute.”

“Every time I look at you, my heart skips a beat.”

Joohyun moved to Seulgi’s forehead and gave her a tender kiss there. “I love you Kang Seulgi.”

Joohyun looked into Seulgi’s eyes and with a kiss on the lips, one that rivaled the small kiss they had here in this very park, she said, “Sincerely, Me.”

//

In the hill overlooking the school, there were two kids sitting next to each other. One a tall girl with a knack for mischief, one a heartbroken girl hoping for love once more.

Sooyoung and Seungwan were talking about everything that came to be and their part in all of it. They had coke cans in their hands, taking sips when need be.

“She changed so quickly,” Seungwan observed. “Just a few weeks ago, she was absolutely hopeless. Now she’s hopeless for another reason.”

“I just hope they last,” Sooyoung said. “When looking through rose-colored glasses, all the red flags look like flags.” She took a sip from her can. “I tried to tell her that, but she’s too hopelessly in love to listen.”

“All the sides of Joohyun…” 

“And she’ll love them all the same,” Sooyoung finished for Seungwan. 

“She said that to you too?”

Sooyoung nodded. “That’s why I’m not too worried.”

Seungwan didn’t say anything back and for a few minutes, they sat with relative silence. No words, just a comfortable lull. 

“Why’d you do it?” Seungwan asked. 

“Do what?” Sooyoung asked, though she knew exactly what Seungwan was referring to.

“Help Seulgi.”

“Well she was very doubtful and—”

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about. Why’d you help them get together?”

Sooyoung opened to say something, but thought better of it. She instead drank a sip of her coke and thought about what excuse she would give this time.

“Answer me Sooyoung,” Seungwan prodded, her eyes staring pointedly at the taller girl beside her. 

“I couldn’t bear to see her that way…” Sooyoung tried. “...all helpless and weak. She always looked like she wanted to cry.”

Seungwan sneered and scrunched her nose in annoyance.

“Liar,” Seungwan hissed. “You love her.”

“Shut up.”

“Admit it, you love her.”

“Shut up!”

“And the easiest way to make her happy was to set her up with the love of her life.”

Sooyoung threw her can aside and took Seungwan’s collar and squeezed it tight. She had rage in her eyes as she glared at Seungwan, but that anger soon fizzled out and with a weak voice she pleaded, “Please...no more.”

“We had a conversation with Seulgi right here on this hill, how she should find and take her own happiness. You’re a hypocrite, Sooyoung. A big, fat hypocrite.”

Sooyoung released Seungwan’s collar and fell weakly on her knees. She had tears in her eyes and she whimpered every now and then.

“What do you suppose I do?”

Seungwan held a finger to her chin and thought of something. After a moment, she said, “Well, it’s not quite the best thing but…”

“Come on, what is it?”

Seungwan scrunched her nose as if she wasn’t really sure. 

“Well it involves letters.”

FIN